the cup is by huebner pottery., soon to be living within arms reach. how could i pass this up for ten dollars?

stuff has to come from somewhere. next magical moment will be brought to you by one of my many friends who make beautiful goodness out of sheep fur.

also, monkeybaby has been on a cranky rampage. not sure if it's the age (14 months-ish) or just cranky or teething or just the direction of the wind.

oh, and I got some stuff. went thrifting for 15 minutes while out and about. i got a lovely mccoy planter (and oddly skipped the mccoy bowl i found in pristine condition - it was small and i wasn't sure if i would use it for anything) and a couple of franciscan teacups/saucers that are uber fab, and a very funny ceramic bowl thing by Julia A, P5. I think the teacups may be a gift for someone - just not sure who. they are so great and lovely and were nearly free. mmm goodies. pictures eventually.

Anyway, apparently I'm also back to my spazmo ways of tripping over my own feet and falling down for no good reason. I'm generally pretty paranoid about this because I carry the baby. Fortunately it was only my own knees and ego.

Still no knitting mojo. I've got little mojo of any kind right now. I tell my one year old no and he laughs at me.

1) Rummage. Very funny aussie mama. Creative, articulate, etc. First site in a long time where I've been *that* person that reads all the way back to the beginning. I'm going to commence calling my underwear and such my smalls. (Side note on the linguistic channel - monkeydad and I thought we should probably re-watch Juno to pick up some vocab - you know, what the kids are saying.)

2) What the Hell Can I Eat. My neighbor says I'll get over it, but I don't know. Jeez. I've known about the Bisephenol (sp) for awhile, and just decided it was time to throw out the Nalgenes infavor of something else (which will not be Siggs). I think perhaps I'm turning into *that* person after all. We've already established I'm wayyyy over to the liberal left. Why not throw in some other stuff too? I'm so not vegan or anything, but I might be headed quickly to organican.

I had some version of this crap a week ago, and of course now I'm getting a cold. It's just one after the other. Monkeydaddy seems to be riding this out with little to no ill effects. But I think monkeybaby spends more time sticking his hands in my mouth than daddy's. Who knows.

Coupled with the latest ever recorded snow in Seattle (even this morning there were big flakes) it's been a weird few days.

The new freelance is great, I like being in the office more than I thought I would, but I'm still struggling to have the work be as much as possible from home. The side effect to this is that we have a tiny bit of disposable income again (or we are able to decide that we do) and after a frugal year off it feels like the money is burning a hole in my pocket. The reality of this is the same as always. I bought a few things (books, a CD, $16 of yarn, a VERY minor trip to Ikea) and bought a nice gifty for monkeydaddy, and beyond that it's mostly just daydreaming about spending money. The funny thing about buying THINGS is that I really love a good thriftstore score and for the most part I don't have a real need to buy big things. I'm pretty happy going to the grocery store and buying whatever I want to buy and having nice soap. Little luxuries. (Note to the universe: don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be averse to money falling from the sky into my yard).

Other random stuff (I could go on all day, as monkeybaby is asleep next to me and I don't feel like moving)... The dumb non-flowering magnolia tree in the front yard is slated to meet the alligator. A couple of years ago now the laurel met the alligator. The DNFM apparently was a girl scout tree and it has grown a bit in 9 years, but never flowered and doesn't look like much. So, after much deliberation, I think I've decided that I'd like to plant a Coral Bark Vine Maple ("Pacific Fire"). Runners up include a Japanese Snowbell or a Katsura. I really love ornamental cherries/plums/etc., but there is one every 4 feet in Seattle. So, I'm going to go with something that has more year round interest. My favorite thing in the yard now is my golden full moon maple. Such a lovely tree, but VERY slow growing. One day it will be stunning outside the dining room windows.

Knitting has been on a bit of a hiatus. I'm not sure where I left my mojo. I *want* to knit, but it kind of just doesn't happen. Granted, I've been feeling crappy, and work takes a lot of the brain cycles I was spending on other things. So hopefully my mojo will turn up and I'll get back to business. I can always think of a thousand crafty things to make, but it can be slow going in actual production. One day when the basement is clean maybe I'll have time to do something. (Probably when monkeybaby is monkeyteen).

Huge puffy clouds, sunshine, and no baby fever. It's a good day now.

of course, i hear that in montypythonese in my head.

we made it back from san diego, i think half the plane was our luggage. conversely, without the kid we could have traveled with a toothbrush and one change of clothes for the week... oh well. monkeybaby is superfantastic and while not great on planes, worth the bother in general :)

so. something which is not baby or knitting related: yesterday i was at the store and they had a cute little selection of hens and chicks plants for sale outside. of course, growing up in california succulents were nearly as common as dirt and i never much thought about them. but at my dear friend grace's place on the beach, she has many little containers of pretty plants (and some big containers of pretty plants) that i have a bit of an ache for since the cats decided years ago that i wasn't allowed house plants. so, probably holding off on the orchids and such for now, but i figured i could try for a pretty little plant for the kitchen window and hope that luna the maine coon won't notice it.

i had to look up hens and chicks. apparently there are many varieties, and they are so pretty. if you go here you can see the beautiful people planting some. as a side note, it does make me happy that the nice young hipsters are doing the green thing. i only say that in that way because in my head i am that girl. in reality, well, i'm not in my 20s and my back hurts.

i really love having plants, and now that it's spring, i'm itchy to surround myself in greenery. there is still so much to be done in the garden, but one step at a time. oh, and the climbing moonbeam hydrangea has put out it's spring leaves. everything is starting.

i think if you live where it's sunny all the time you don't appreciate these moments of new growth. you may take that as a larger philosophical statement as well.

travel is harder on baby j this time around, and he's taken several days to adjust. but he's finally sleeping ok in a strange bed, although truly unhappy in a car seat for any length of time.

he is my joy, the center of my world, and a very entertaining boy. unfortunately with my temper and not his dad's but an incredible tiny human. winning hearts wherever he goes.

once again, it was a great day, happy birthday (hope you enjoyed that cupcake, you won't be seeing sugar like that again any time soon), i love you like a wildfire little boy.

While we were at the thrift store, someone pooped in one of the changing rooms.

There are blooms on the climbing hydrangea.

Today while sitting quietly while himself was napping there was a sudden burst of weird noise, nearly making me jump out of my skin. I had forgotten that about a week ago I heard our crazy harbinger of spring on someone elses roof. A few days ago we got new chimney caps, which are metal, which apparently was just a big welcome back sign. Today the crazy flicker (not Flickr) (which is a bird, which is like a woodpecker) (or the woodpecker) found our chimney caps. Usually every spring he finds the bathroom vent and the noise isn't too bad. On the chimney caps it was more like a burst of a jackhammer. Apparently spring means do your pecking thing on metal so your head rings.

I have completed a baby sweater in less than a week. A regular sweater. And I found that I actually like sewing up knitting if the stitches are clear - 'cause I learned how to do it properly. I still hate weaving in ends. I suspect that when I learn to weave in ends properly I'll like that ok too.

a) my niece wants to learn to knit. i can't tell you how excited i am about that. she is partly named after me, and while that does mean that she has some definite temper tantrums, she's the crafty kid. it rocks. so, of course, my sister in law mentiions this and before we're off the phone, i'm off to the store to buy goodies for junior knitter. there's a knitting bag for her now, with her name on it, and a princess crown, and inside are all levels of yarny goodness. we'll make it work. i couldn't be more excited.

b) i love fabric, i love the finished product of fabric, but i can't say i'm enthralled with the process of sewing. i love quilts mostly, but most amy butler stuff, bags, you know. i just don't care about the actual making of them. which is silly because i've got a bit of a fabric stash. and bought a cheap (but very functional) sewing machine awhile back. i just keep looking at the fabric and the sewing machine and wanting to say "could you all just get together without me and let me know when my cute little linen totebag is done"?

yep, gotta run. only allowing the kid a power nap. mr man is on the way home from work, and i'm gonna get this tiny sweater done asap if i have to stay up all night! (ok, that might be a lie)

It was also a lovely weekend for the zoo, so we went off to see the bears. It was so packed, but very nice to go as a family. Munkeeboy and I might make a trip on a weekday soon, just to have a quiet walk.

In other news, sending nice little baby shower annoucements for a friend is more writing than holiday cards. Who knew.

of course, i'm still in jammies drinking coffee and gazing at yarn online. i was given a reprieve this morning. what that actually translates to is another delay in actually getting a paycheck, but it's all fine. fine fine fine. i don't have the psychic energy to get tweaked.

i really want to knit a sweater for myself. i'm a little obsessed. however, knitting a sweater for someone else sort of doesn't count. if the yarn is not for me, and i actually start the project, it's like not really buying yarn, right? mmhmm. so, maybe i will be starting the corrugated asymetrical baby sweater for juniormunkee, and the cobblestone pullover by jared flood for mr man. two nice sweaters for my men. that totally won't count. then when i get that paycheck, maybe the placed cable aran for me.

dog barked, child awake...

we've got a napper. the kid sleeps so well it's almost scary. 12-14 hours a night, plus 1-2 naps totalling about 3 hours. so, most days i do get an hour or two to myself, of a sort. most days that means cleaning (the house and myself) while i have a bit of time (and i'm frequently working my butt off doing that, just not today), but it also means quiet endeavors. i alternate between taking care of the outside world and the inside world. i have no idea where the last two hours went today, but there are a couple new pics on flickr, and the batting is between fabric for the baby quilt. now i just have to learn what the heck i'm doing. seriously.

a couple of days ago i finally put together the mobile parts that i made on a whim about a year ago. munkeebaby loves it. awesome.

i still have two pregnant girlfriends, so there is plenty of baby stuff still to go, and i'm behind on knitting for other babies previously born... so, again, plenty of crafty backlog. however, the reality is, i start back to doing some for-real work in the next few days-ish. and since knitting doesn't pay as well as UI design. well, it's halfway back to the mothership. i sort of need to slap myself, but the reality is, this isn't the time to take up something new. doing what i've done before is completely perfect. i can work part time, it pays well, blah blah. mostly i'm concerned about this darned mommy-brain. i have to re-solder the connections.

it's a beautiful day, and we're nearing the 2.5 hour mark on the nap. so, there won't be a second one, but i should probably take a shower now, while i have a chance. i love days where i have time to think three thoughts in a row.

1) (the standing resolution) - open the mail.
2) be a good mom.
3) take responsibility for my frustration.

that third one encompasses quite a bit. it boils down to remembering that people can't read my mind. and instead of being all pissy to people when they don't do what i want, or expect, i am trying to communicate when i'm going nuts.

so far so good.

mr man, just now: "honey, did you find your stitch?"
me: huh, what? oh, uh, no, i'm done.
mr man: (as i type this) are you trying to google your stitch?

today, today it was good. a heath bowl (insignificant crack) for fifty cents, two hull small bean pots in pristine condition, $3 each, and best, 2, count them 2, denyse schmidt quilts for $23. score. they are blue strings attached pattern.